


and I don't want to know how slow the time must flow

by fonulyn



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Admiration, Mutual Pining, That is totally a thing, but oh well, hunnigan is there for like one conversation, injuries, kissy kisses, pretty vague tho, they're each other's biggest fans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-18 23:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22201462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fonulyn/pseuds/fonulyn
Summary: Leon was really beginning to hate castles. In hindsight it was a wonder that he hadn’t already developed an intense hate towards them after Spain, after all of the time he’d had to spend dealing with Saddler’s subordinates and the weird traps and whatelse. And while this technically wasn’t even a castle but more a fortress, it was still close enough and Leon wasso done.-Or the one wherein Chris and Leon try to fight their way out of a castle and feelings take over.
Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Chris Redfield
Comments: 14
Kudos: 142





	and I don't want to know how slow the time must flow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aideryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aideryn/gifts).



> So, Aide, I honestly have no idea by now if this has anything you asked for :’D But I hope you’ll find it enjoyable enough! You’re great and deserve all the good things. (Also I’m sorry if I botched the first-aid too badly, lol, I at least vagued it quite a bit.)

Leon was really beginning to hate castles. In hindsight it was a wonder that he hadn’t already developed an intense hate towards them after Spain, after all of the time he’d had to spend dealing with Saddler’s subordinates and the weird traps and whatelse. And while this technically wasn’t even a castle but more a fortress, it was still close enough and Leon was _so done_. Castles were drafty and humid, it was always cold in there and every single footstep echoed in the corridors in a way that was more than enough to make anyone feel a little paranoid. 

So, he hated castles. He hated fortresses, he hated abandoned prisons, and cathedrals, and any and all structures where stone walls seemed to suck all warmth off the air. Grumbling to himself he pulled up the zipper of his jacket, before adjusting his grip on the handgun and rounding a corner. 

At least he’d soon get out of here. It was like the flash drive was burning a hole in his pocket, and he’d checked at least twenty times that he still had it, with all the information that was stored within. Hunnigan had sounded really pleased about it when they’d last been in contact a while earlier, but she hadn’t resisted when he’d told her he’d still check out the rest of the basement level, just in case. 

There were cells in the lowest level, it had apparently served as a prison for whoever poor souls had been stuck here in the cold as hell old castle turned into a research lab. Leon could already imagine the kinds of experiments that had probably gone on in here, but he tried not to focus on them too much. He still had a job to finish, and he couldn’t afford getting distracted by sentimentality. 

Carefully Leon peeked into the cells from the small barred windows the doors had, and most of them turned out to be empty. There was the body of some poor soul slumped over in one, but upon closer inspection it turned out nothing could be done to them, they were long gone. 

A loud scraping noise startled Leon, before he realized it was coming from the upper floors. He grimaced a little as he realized he’d have to pass by whatever creatures were loose up there on his way to the roof and to the chopper that had been promised to him. There was really no other way out of here, the place was on an island and it was surrounded by enough rocks that boats had a really hard time getting close enough. 

So to the roof it was, and Leon kind of wanted to kick himself because he’d just made his life at least ten times harder as he’d messed with the security to release the electric locks. 

The last cell in the row seemed empty at first glance, but Leon pulled the latch anyway and unbarred the door, carefully pushing it open as he stepped in. He knew nothing that looked empty was guaranteed to be, so he was on alert enough to notice when something – someone – moved in his peripheral vision. 

There was something really familiar about the figure lunging at him, though. Something… Leon didn’t have the time to dissect that any further before he rolled out of the way, inwardly congratulating himself on getting his balance back so quickly. The cell’s occupant was making a grab at him again, and instead of using his gun or pulling out the knife, Leon dodged again as the familiarity kept gnawing at him. 

There was a fist aimed straight at his face, and Leon only managed to dodge it in the last second, so that the man ended up punching the wall beside his head, right where his face had been a second earlier. The impact made the man grunt and still for a second, and that’s when Leon realized who he’d found. 

None other than _Chris Redfield_. 

“Chris, wait! It’s me!” Leon made the mistake to stop in his tracks, somehow assuming that Chris would recognize his voice and place him in the ‘friends and allies’ category instead of continuing to fight. He was proven wrong, as Chris immediately punched him squarely in the face. The burst of pain caused Leon to yell, voice still louder than normal when he went on. “Hey _Einstein_ , I’m on _your_ side!”

That now immediately seemed to hit home, since as quickly as Leon had stopped just a moment earlier, Chris practically froze in his tracks and looked at Leon with wide, shocked eyes. “Shit,” he breathed out, shaking his head disbelievingly for a second, before just staring at Leon. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, after a pause during which obviously neither of them really knew what to say. 

Leon recovered from his shock quicker, making sure they were alone in the room before finally granting Chris an eyeroll. “Geez, nice to see you too,” he said, not quite managing as lighthearted tone as he had hoped he could. Thankfully he had already scoped through most of the basement floor, the only others that might be there with them were definitely in locked cells, much like Chris had been. “Also, you’re welcome. Glad to have saved you.” 

Chris felt adequately chastised, darting his eyes downwards as he searched for words. “I. Sorry. About that.” He gestured towards Leon’s face, hoping that he hadn’t hit hard enough to bruise. That probably was a futile wish, though, the man’s cheekbone looked red and would probably blossom into a darker shade soon. “We’re not out of the woods yet. Got anything you could lend me?”

With a shrug Leon reached to the second gun he still had in its holster, handing it out to Chris along with some extra ammunition. “We’ll have to find something usable here, I might not have enough to get us out of here.” He hadn’t run into a lot of supplies during his search of the rooms so far, but who knew, maybe their luck would change now. One could at least hope. 

Knowing he should definitely let others know what was going on, Leon grabbed his communicator and decided that no time like the present when it came to informing Hunnigan. He bypassed all forms of greeting, launching into an almost chirpy tone that was pretty much the exact opposite of how he was really feeling. “Guess who I found?”

There was a tired sigh at the other end of the line, much closer to the tiredness Leon felt deep in his bones as well. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Still not exactly feeling the enthusiasm he was faking, Leon committed to the tone he’d picked nevertheless. “None other than the legendary Chris Redfield himself! Will this earn me a promotion? A raise?” Leon smirked at Chris, even going as far as to wriggle his eyebrows. That immediately made Chris snort out a laugh, before averting his gaze to the ground so he wouldn’t be tempted to butt in on the conversation. At least he’d managed to make Chris laugh a little, Leon thought distantly. Something good.

“ _Redfield_?” There was clear surprise in Hunnigan’s voice, but she seemed to get over it quick, all business again as she went on. “Get him out of there in one piece and I’m sure you’ll be rewarded one way or the other. What about the blueprints? You got them? And the …” she trailed off, and Chris was sure it was because this part of Leon’s mission wasn’t supposed to reach his ears. He didn’t mind, though, he knew how this worked.

Leon cut her off before she managed to trail off any further with a “Yep. All done.” 

There was a relieved sigh. “Good. Then from now on this is officially a rescue mission. Get your asses out of there.”

“Copy that,” Leon signed off, turning to grin at Chris again. “You know, even with the welcome I got,” he gestured vaguely towards the bruise forming on his cheek, “I’m really glad I ran into you. They’ve been moving heaven and hell trying to locate you, even contacted us for help, and I don’t think they were any closer to the solution. Claire is really worried, too,” he added, softer.

Chris felt a tinge of guilt at that, regret that he made his sister worry so often. Not that he had meant to be taken in as a prisoner, but still… He was finally beginning to feel a bit more like himself, too, and before Leon managed to get any further and speak up again, Chris stepped in and grabbed him into a big bear-hug. “It’s good to see you, really.”

For a second Leon tensed but then relaxed into the embrace, returned it too even if a little awkwardly at first. He always seemed surprised to be hugged, even though Chris – and Claire, and a few of their friends – had been doing it already for ages whenever they saw him. It was like they’d wordlessly all decided that the man needed hugs and started to act on it. Not that Leon minded, really. As much as he wasn’t yet entirely used to all the hugs, he did enjoy them. 

“Okay, okay,” Leon said finally, patting Chris’ shoulder a little. “You’re forgiven for punching me. Now let’s get the hell out of here, okay.”

“Yeah, sure.” There was only determination on Chris’ face as he pulled back, obviously dead set on doing just that. 

They went through the rest of the cells, but they were empty. It was a definite blessing not to be faced with any more enemies, but at the same time there were no useful items either. Yet all Leon could think about was how glad he was he’d found Chris. It was a huge relief to not only find out where he was but also to find him looking so unharmed. Okay he was obviously tired, he had bruises and cuts and his clothes were more dirt than anything else. But in the grand scheme of things he seemed fine. And that filled Leon with so much content relief that he really had no words for it. 

Besides, Leon couldn’t deny it was nice to have backup, for once, and now they could watch each other’s backs. They’d worked together a few times in the past, and slotted back into it so easily it almost felt as if they did this all the time. Leon was forced to work alone more often than not, but even within the few times he’d had a partner to help him on a mission, no one had filled him with such confidence as Chris did. 

When they were halfway through the first set of wide stairs, there was nothing around them except for the echo of their footsteps. Leon gripped his gun tight just in case, knowing just about anything could jump at them from behind the nearest corner. From the corner of his eye he kept on watching Chris, frowning as he caught a stumble in the older man’s step. 

“What did they do to you?” he asked, carefully, trying to sound like he wasn’t pushing and would accept it if Chris didn’t want to share. 

“Surprisingly, not much,” Chris grimaced, shrugging a little. He looked uneasy, but didn’t even hesitate as he explained. “I got a bit of a beating when they first threw me in there, but then they… kind of just left me to myself? I even got food, and they kept telling me that ‘you’ll need your strength’ but I don’t really know what they were planning.” He glanced at Leon, the displeased twist of his mouth turning into a tentative smile instead. “I guess I’m lucky you showed up to throw a wrench in their plans before they got to that.”

Leon had barely registered a word after he had, suddenly, in the middle of Chris’ explanation realized what had almost happened. It was like an icy cold shower, and it took him a moment to shake himself back into reality. He swallowed hard, hoping the nervousness wasn’t too audible in his voice. “They didn’t inject you with anything?”

“No, they didn’t.” Chris frowned. He stopped in his steps, reached out for Leon and placed a hand on his shoulder to make him stop, too. Only when they were facing each other, he sought out eye-contact and asked “Leon, what is it?” 

For a second Leon hesitated. He wasn’t supposed to be sharing information about his mission here, but then again, this was _Chris_. Not only had he been captured and almost a part of the villainous scheme, but he was essentially the head of the BSAA and worked to eradicate the very same threats. Besides, he was one of the maybe five people Leon actually trusted. 

So the words burst out of Leon before he could reconsider. “They’re working on something like an enhanced version of the plaga. Something easier to control, less damaging for the carrier of the dominant species. But so far it’s apparently been killing all of its intended hosts, on both sides, so they were trying to find strong enough candidates to try it on,” he gave a wan smile. “Apparently you qualified.” 

Chris nodded, taking in the information with surprising amount of calm. He gave Leon’s shoulder a squeeze, staying still like they had all the time in the world. “I know they didn’t inject me with anything while I was awake. But I did sleep for a bit in between.” He looked almost apologetic. “I was here for _days_.”

“If you’ve got no symptoms yet, you’re probably safe. We can do a full-body scan when we get back. Just to be sure.” Leon met Chris’ eyes earnestly. “Please tell me if you feel something weird. It’s like…” He paused, trying to find proper words for how it had been for him, back over a decade before when he’d had his encounter with the plagas. “It feels like there’s something molten in your veins. Like… something’s moving? It hurts like a bitch, you can’t really miss it. And later you’d be hacking up blood, it’s like your lungs are trying to push up through your throat.” 

Leon paused again, looking at his shoes. “Just. Don’t try to hide it, okay? The pain is the first good clue about the infection, so don’t go all macho on me and try to power through it.” In his experience Chris was usually stubborn to a fault, and more concerned of the safety of everyone else than himself, so he hoped, with all his might, that Chris could be reasonable about this.

What Leon didn’t expect was to be pulled against a firm chest and hugged tight. His first reaction was surprise and he tensed, ready to break free, but then his brain caught up and realized it was Chris, who was the furthest thing from a threat for him. So he allowed himself to lean into it, even if he didn’t really understand what had brought it on. 

“I’m sorry,” Chris muttered, barely audibly.

It took a moment for Leon to understand what that meant, but by the time Chris let him go again he’d figured it out. “It’s fine,” he said, as he regretfully pulled back from the embrace, already fighting the urge to sink right back into it. “It was a long time ago.” 

How weird was it, he’d found Chris less than an hour earlier, and he’d already been hugged more than in the past _month_ , if not longer. And his traitorous heart was trying to drum its way through his ribcage, the ridiculous infatuation he’d had for Chris since _forever_ flaring up again. As usual. He got a hold of himself, though, cleared his throat and started up the stairs again. “Just tell me if you’re feeling weird.”

*

Chris wasn’t stupid. He could see the weird mood that had overtaken Leon after their talk, how he seemed to be avoiding looking at Chris properly and dodged all attempts of starting the conversation again. And Chris wanted to kind of hit himself for that. He’d gotten so caught up in the moment that he hadn’t even stopped to consider Leon’s personal boundaries, but had just acted selfishly on instinct, had given in to the intense urge to hug him.

It was… Leon had been through so much in his life, yet he remained so selfless, so strong throughout it all. He deserved someone who could help him shoulder at least some of it. And a big, selfish part of Chris kept hoping that someone could be him. Yet again he let it slide, though, didn’t push and didn’t insist, but followed Leon up the stairs in silence. 

Until they got to the top of the staircase, to large iron barred doors, and could hear the screeching and roaring on the other side. “What the hell is loose in there?” Chris asked, immediately checking just how much ammunition he still had, and as always finding it lacking. 

Leon grimaced, avoiding Chris’ gaze. “Well,” he drawled, “ _someone_ may have tried to hack into their security systems and accidentally let all the specimen loose in the third and fourth floor. At least. I’m not sure about the rest of them.” He squared his shoulders, finally glancing at Chris. “And since the one who had this place built, for some reason, decided every other staircase has to be on the opposite end of the building…”

“…our only way out is through them,” Chris finished the sentence for him. Just their luck, then. Nothing new, definitely. By now it was more a rule than an exception that they had to always do things the hard way instead of for once catching a lucky break. He could clearly see the guilt in Leon’s eyes, as he obviously blamed himself for the mistake he’d made earlier. As far as Chris was concerned, it wasn’t his fault. “Well,” he shrugged, “shit happens. We’ll deal.”

Immediately Leon looked almost relieved, and there may have been a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “As usual,” he huffed. He paused at the door for a second, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but then seemed to steel himself for what was to come. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Chris echoed, lifting his gun. The next second Leon swung the door open and they took in the situation, beginning their slow and laborious progress. There weren’t that many big monsters loose, at least, but that didn’t mean that the dogs and the swarms of flies and spiders weren’t tedious enough. They were so used to this though, had done it so many times, that they fell into the routine almost frighteningly easily. 

To conserve ammo, Leon threw Chris his combat knife, knowing that Chris was probably the more efficient one out of the two of them with it. Not that he couldn’t do it himself, but he was better at hitting the target long-distance, and at a situation like this and with the meager supplies they had, it was better to play their strengths. And it was almost distracting how Chris sliced his way through the frog-like creatures that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Finally they got to the end of the floor, to the other set of heavy doors they pried open, both heaving a breath of relief as the doors closed behind them and they were in an empty staircase again. Chris wiped the blade of the knife against his thigh, leaving a smear of blood and slime on his pants. “How many floors does the place have?” he asked, although the grimace on his face spoke volumes of how he didn’t really want to know the answer. 

Leon was frowning down at his communicator, fiddling with it for a bit before finally looking up at Chris. “I tried to contact Hunnigan,” he said, “but we’ve lost connection. All I got was that she wants us to still head towards the pick up point on the roof.”

“So we’ll head to the roof,” Chris answered with a nod, aiming for a grin that he hoped was more reassuring and positive than it felt. “C’mon, the stairs aren’t going to climb themselves.” He almost winced himself at how stupid his joke sounded, how it fell flat on its figurative ass between them. 

Somehow it managed to draw a somewhat reluctant smile from Leon though. “Yeah.”

The next two floors went on about the same. The staircases were a welcome reprieve as for some reason none of the creatures had even attempted to really break into them, at least for now. Some of them were so busy fighting each other that there was really not much of a bother about them, and they never stayed in a floor to take down everything that moved but instead worked quickly to get forward. 

“Next time Claire says I should take the stairs instead of an elevator I’m going to push her down them,” Leon grumbled as he started up yet another set of stairs, already hating this. “How come they couldn’t install an elevator here too, how the fuck did the scientists and whatever sign up for working under these conditions, I can’t—”

The rant made Chris smile tiredly, but the mention of Claire made something twist in his chest. “How is she?” he asked, hating how he hadn’t heard from his sister in weeks. What kind of a big brother was he, not taking care of her like she deserved. 

“Worried about you,” Leon answered honestly, “but otherwise she’s fine. Dragged me out to some godforsaken shopping mall two weeks ago, and I swear, next time I’m calling you to suffer in my stead. She can give you the life update when we’ll first get the hell out of here.”

“Alright, it’s a deal,” Chris chuckled. That did sound like Claire, and although he wasn’t big on shopping he’d do anything for her, so. Maybe he could convince Leon to join them anyway, so they could spend some time together all three of them. Leon looked like he desperately needed a break, even if it was something like shopping. 

After a pause Chris couldn’t hold back the question that was burning a hole into his chest. “How are _you_?”

Leon glanced back to Chris, eyes wide. “ _Me_?” He looked like he honestly didn’t have any clue how to answer a question like that, with the way he opened his mouth to answer and closed it right after. Eventually he shrugged, turning around to continue climbing. “Just peachy.”

That obviously wasn’t the truth, and Chris was stubborn enough not to let it slide. “You look like you haven’t slept for a month.”

“Geez, thank you.”

“You know what I mean, Leon,” Chris sighed, frustrated, and unwilling to back down for once. He usually let Leon do whatever he pleased and didn’t make it a habit to preach, but seriously. The man looked half dead on his feet and Chris didn’t like that one bit. He wanted to… he wanted to wrap Leon up into a big fluffy blanket and make him sleep for a month. “That wasn’t an insult. I’m worried.”

This time Leon looked less thunderous, he even smiled a little as he turned to look at Chris, stopping at the next set of big doors. “I’m fine. Still alive, ain’t I?”

A part of Chris wanted to argue, to drive his point home and make sure Leon understood just how worried he really was about him. But then again, he didn’t want to turn this into a big thing, into an argument, not when they were stuck here like this. So he allowed his lips to quirk up into a smile. “I gotta admit, the way you practically cartwheeled over that lizard thing? _Impressive_.”

“Says the guy who tricked two of them into fighting each other,” Leon chuckled, his face melting into a grin. “ _That_ was impressive.”

And right then and there, Chris fell a little bit more in love. Leon’s smile always made his insides twist into a knot he couldn’t even hope to untangle, but now it was paired with that deep, almost affectionate sparkle in his eyes, and for a split second Chris allowed himself to hope. “Oh?” he said, though, not willing to voice any of the feelings out loud even if he felt like he was clearly broadcasting them with the way he just looked at Leon, “I wasn’t the one who threw a _rock_ and smashed the skull of one of those flying things.”

Leon gave a small shrug. “Alright, fine. Ready?” He looked more awake and alive than he had all day, even as he nodded towards the door, raising his gun once again.

“Ready,” Chris answered, his own step feeling a little bit lighter, too. 

Of course when the door opened they immediately saw that things were different. There wasn’t a swarm of smaller creatures trying to go for their jugular, but instead there was something massive blocking the entire corridor. 

It wasn’t the biggest creature they’d seen, not by far, but it was built like a tank and it was like every single bullet just ricocheted from its thick skin. Nothing seemed to have even the smallest of impact on it, and they were already so dangerously low on ammo that it didn’t make much sense to waste whatever little they had on it. The only weak point appeared to be the creature’s stomach, but it was damn near impossible to get enough shots in.

Then again, it was effectively blocking their way to the upper floors, and with the blind trashing and running it had already taken down one wall so who was to say it wouldn’t make the entire building collapse if it got to run loose long enough. Apparently Leon’s train of thought had gone the same way, as he looked at Chris, mouth pinched to a grim line. “I still have explosives,” he said quickly, “keep it distracted, okay. I’m going in.”

A part of Chris wanted to protest, but he didn’t have a better plan to offer right now and he knew they’d need to deal with this quick. Besides if anyone was good at making up a plan on the spot and thinking on his feet it was Leon. As reckless as he might’ve sounded, he had a plan, and he had the skills to execute it, too. So Chris only nodded, barking out a quick “Go!” before setting out to keep the BOWs attention on himself. 

In his peripheral vision he saw Leon dart forward, but then he was faced with a roaring monster, so close its breath was hot on his face and that mouth full of teeth as long as his forearm closing in way too fast. He raised the shotgun and fired in quick succession, and while it didn’t seem to do any lasting damage it at least slowed the thing down, made it back away a few paces. 

Then there was Leon’s voice somewhere behind the BOW, yelling to get its attention, and Chris quickly backed off and dodged behind a corner. It was still fifty-fifty whether it would follow him and not walk right into the trap Leon had set for it, but for once they got lucky and the heavy footsteps sounded like they were getting farther away. 

What came next was an explosion. It made the entire building shake, or so it at least felt, but all Chris could focus on was the pained screams and roars. There was no way for him to tell if those were all coming from the BOW, but he was praying to whatever higher power may have been listening that Leon was alright, that he’d managed to get out from the way of the blast. 

After it got quiet Chris rounded the corner carefully, gun held up, and the first thing he saw was the godawful mess that remained of the creature they’d been facing. The explosion had torn off half of it, leaving it in a spreading puddle on the floor, and there was no way it would get up from that anymore. The explosion had also taken down the wall next to it, concrete rubble all over with the reinforcement bars that had been embedded into it sticking every which way from it. 

He was snapped back from his thoughts when a tight voice called out for him. “Chris? You there?” 

Immediately Chris sprung into action. “Leon!” he yelled, leaping over the rubble on the floor and the rapidly cooling corpse, coming to a screeching halt when he reached Leon. The man was lying on the ground, unhurt at first glance, but if the pained grimace was anything to go by that wasn’t the whole truth. “Where are you hurt?” he demanded, trying to scan Leon’s appearance.

“My leg,” Leon grit out through clenched teeth. He even nodded towards the general direction, and finally Chris followed his gaze.

One of the reinforcement bars had fucking _impaled_ Leon’s calf. Instantly Chris’ heart was hammering even harder and he rushed to examine the injury, trying to figure out what to do. It might have been the explosion, or the creature pummeling through the wall, but the mesh of iron bars was a mess. One of them looked like it might have impaled Leon’s face had they been a little less lucky, while the other bars were twisted at random angles, jutting out into the air or embedded into the flooring. 

In hindsight it was really, really damn lucky that only one of them had managed to get Leon. 

“Fuck,” Chris whispered, mostly to himself. Finally he set his weapon to the side, trying to see if there was anything he could do. The wall itself had broken into a big pile of rubble, the chunks the size of his head on average, and he wouldn’t really have trouble to clear them out. But when he grabbed one of the bars not stuck to Leon, it seemed to be planted into the floor more than firmly. 

“I…” Leon started, pain oddly audible in his voice. “I don’t think the bone is broken?” he offered finally, managing to keep his voice reasonably steady. 

Chris crouched down to inspect, and indeed it seemed that the iron rod had narrowly missed the bone and only stabbed through tissue and muscle. The amount of blood wasn’t as much as he’d feared, either, so it seemed all the big veins had been spared. “I’m not sure you can walk on this either way,” he said, grimacing as he didn’t exactly sound consoling or encouraging. 

“I’m not going to be walking anyway,” Leon pointed out, frustration audible in his voice even through the pain. “Or did you completely miss the way I’m fucking skewered to the floor?” He shifted a little, already biting back a pained sob at that movement. 

“I will pull it out,” Chris said, already moving to throw some of the rubble to the side, to clear the area around Leon, and carefully avoiding his leg for now. 

Leon snorted. “I can’t be the only one to hear the double entendre in that.”

At first, Chris only glared. He decided to ignore the words altogether, and instead placed his feet on either side of Leon’s knee, grabbing a hold of the iron to pull. It was hard to keep his grip even with the ribbed surface of the bar, though, and his fingers kept slipping as he strained all of his muscles. In vain. He was so focused on the task that it took him a moment to register that he was being spoken to. 

“ _Fuck_ , stop! Chris stop! Let _go_!” 

Quickly Chris let go, as if he’d been burned, and when he raised his bewildered gaze it met with a horrible, pain twisted expression on Leon’s face. “If you’re going to do that again, you’ll have to knock me unconscious first. Or find me at least a bottle of vodka. Whichever’s easier.” Leon smirked, putting on a cocky front, but the traces of pain on his face were real, the glint of something like desperation in his eyes. 

A part of Chris wanted to yell. Wanted to argue and point out that there was no other fucking choice but to get this thing out of Leon’s leg. Yet another part of him wanted to just apologize and gather Leon in his arms and hold him, tell him it’d be okay. A little part, one that he shoved away determinedly, wanted to just cry. “Neither,” he huffed, willing his voice steady, “I’ll give it another try later. Let’s see if you’re fine otherwise.” Now he settled for kneeling down next to Leon’s leg, pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding he’d caused with twisting the bar.

“I am,” Leon answered, unhesitant. “I knocked my elbow on my way down but it’s already fine.” He met Chris’ gaze straight, not even blinking. “Seriously. Some bruises but you’ve got to admit that in our line of work those aren’t exactly anything to be worried about.” He gave a faint grin.

For some reason the words made Chris’ eyes slide to the ugly purple bruise under Leon’s left eye. He felt a twitch of guilt in his stomach. He elected to ignore it. “Do you have anything we could use to saw this thing?” he asked, gesturing towards the iron sticking from Leon’s leg. He knew it wasn’t really likely, but hey, never hurt to ask. 

Of course they didn’t.

*

Truth to be told, Leon was pretty much ready to give up when he knew, without a doubt, that he was impaled onto the floor and not going anywhere. The pain was dull enough to be ignored if he was completely still, so he much preferred that right now. He had taken two painkillers, hoping it’d help, and not daring to take any more since there might be a more dire need for them later.

Leon was just tired. Tired of the helplessness, tired of the pain. Tired of the twisted look of concern on Chris’ face. Eventually he couldn’t take the way the man was staring at his leg mournfully, and heaved a loud sigh. “Just. Fucking go.” He assumed that Chris was worried about the mission, about what would happen if neither of them got out of here to bring the vital information forward. So he figured, well, he was enough of a liability to be sacrificed.

The outraged expression that slowly dawned on Chris’ face as he realized the meaning of the words took Leon completely by surprise. Chris frowned, his attention finally drawn from the injured leg to the person said leg belonged to. “I’m not leaving you!” He looked actually kind of adorable in his indignation. 

Leon shrugged awkwardly. He offered a smile, although it turned out more a grimace. “You don’t have much of a choice,” he pointed out. “I’m not going anywhere unless you saw my leg off with a knife.” He was slightly alarmed by the long, considering look Chris seemed to give his leg, and quickly he hurried to add as firmly as he possibly could. “ _No_ , Chris. You’re not touching my leg.”

There was a huge sigh. Chris hung his head, though, giving up on the crazy line of thought. Then he looked up, meeting Leon’s gaze straight. “I’m not leaving you.” He sounded a lot calmer now than before, but no less firm. If possible, he came off even more stubborn. 

Anger flared up inside of Leon, a welcome change to the pain and the dull ache of desperation that threatened to drown everything out. “Then what the hell do you suggest? We don’t know how many creatures there are lurking around waiting to kill us. It’s only a matter of time before those things break through the doors into the stairs and find us here. We left enough of them alive. And we’ve already established that we can’t move that thing. So?”

“The fuck do I know!?” Chris growled, equally agitated. “I’ve been running on two hours of sleep for the past three days, I’m not exactly at my best. But I’m _not_ going to just walk away and _abandon_ you, so stop suggesting it!”

Leon wanted to argue, he really did, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. So instead he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second to compose himself, and then offered a silent “Rest, then?”

Instantly Chris nodded. He got up from his crouch on the floor, dusting his palms on his pants. “I’ll barricade the doors better, set some traps. At least it’ll alert us if something’s trying to sneak up on us.” He didn’t wait for a reply, but one wasn’t really going to follow anyway. They both knew that traps and barricades wouldn’t do much good, because Leon wasn’t going to be going anywhere. If something attacked them, Chris could either try to kill it or run, but Leon would be sitting on his ass like a friggin’ stationary practice target. 

Neither of them said anything about it though. Chris did what he felt he had to do, and Leon waited, sitting still and leaning back against his aching arms, resolutely trying to ignore the pain in his leg the best he could. 

The exhaustion must’ve been showing on his face, though, as when Chris got back he took only one look at Leon before sitting next to him, so close that his shoulder was right there for Leon to lean his back against. Under normal circumstances Leon would’ve just forced himself to bear it, but he was just. so. _tired_. Grateful, he almost collapsed against the firm chest behind himself, even closed his eyes to get a moment of rest. 

Maybe it was the painkillers finally kicking in properly, or maybe it was the steady rise and fall of Chris’ chest against him, Leon didn’t really know, but he was floating somewhere between awake and asleep. “Hey, Chris?” He sounded sleepy even to his own ears.

“Hm?”

“Thanks.” At first he only meant it as sort of a _thank you for being such a good backrest_ , but somehow the darkness around them made it easier for him to admit to himself that he was grateful for so much more, too. So he went on. “For staying.”

The answer was another long-suffering sigh. “Shit, Leon. I’m not going to leave you here, stop making it sound like it’s something you can’t wrap your mind around.” Chris was frowning, the expression audible in his voice. “You’re a _friend_. I’m not leaving one behind.”

The words were so sincere that there was a sudden lump in Leon’s throat. He swallowed around it, trying to stave off the wave of helplessness and honest to god despair that threatened to wash over him. In any other moment he wouldn’t have been so foolish, but now… he was speaking up before his brain-to-mouth filter managed to catch up. “Wanna know a secret?” He paused only for a second, not long enough to get an answer. “I kind of really feel like I should kiss you.”

There it was. The thought Leon had sworn to himself he would never voice out loud. Yet sitting here, in the dark, somehow made it sound less harsh than he had thought it’d be. There was just enough moonlight from the window that he could make out Chris’ face when he tilted his head back to look over his shoulder, and to his surprise the man didn’t look angry. Or even shocked. He looked just somewhat uncomfortable, maybe a little thoughtful. Kind of constipated.

“Look, Leon…” Chris started, softly. 

Already the tone of his voice made Leon’s stomach drop, and he quickly spoke up to cut him off. “Sorry. I know that was out of line. It’s not like I expected anything to happen. I just…” He didn’t know what he had expected. Chris had called him a friend just a second ago, even stressing the word as if to underline it. He should’ve taken the hint instead of making an ass of himself. “I’m tired. Can we just sleep?”

For a long moment Chris kept looking at him, as if he was trying to decide what the best course of action would be. But finally he just nodded. “Yeah. Hold yourself up for a bit, I’ll lie down.” 

Leon did as he’d been told, and Chris shuffled around to get down on the floor, until he was lying on his back. Then he patted Leon’s shoulder for a heads-up before unceremoniously pulling him down, too. Leon winced at the way his leg was jostled a little, but it was only a small amount of movement and the spike of pain passed soon enough. 

Then he was lying there, tucked neatly along Chris’ side, head resting on the man’s shoulder – and it was actually really comfortable, considering. Warmth was radiating off Chris, who always seemed to be a friggin’ space heater, and Leon was eternally grateful for that as it made the cold floor feel a little less shitty place to sleep. His treacherous heart did a little blip in his chest but he squashed the feeling down the best he could.

He should be ecstatic, Leon thought, getting to stay this close to Chris. Instead, he just kind of hated his life. A lot.

*

Chris hadn’t lied when he’d said that he was exhausted, but now that the opportunity to sleep was there he couldn’t sleep no matter how he tried. He didn’t really mind the hard floor underneath himself, and he knew he had rigged enough traps around them to be alerted if anyone or anything tried to approach. It should be sufficient to at least catch a quick nap, to ensure that he’d be functional and aware enough to get them the hell out of here in one piece.

But he was wide awake, staring up at the ceiling with burning eyes, acutely aware of the body pressed against his own. Leon was so tense, as uncomfortable as Chris was, but apparently even more tired as gradually he relaxed and was eventually out cold, his breathing even and slow as he slept. Sadly that brought Chris himself no closer to sleep, as he felt more awake than ever.

He kept playing the words from earlier through his mind like a mantra. _I kind of really feel like I should kiss you_. Well wasn’t that something Chris had always thought he’d only hear in his wildest dreams and shameful late night fantasies. He’d imagined it often enough. First only because when he’d met Leon all those years ago the man had been basically sex on legs, a walking wet dream, enough to send Chris’ imagination into an overdrive with only a handshake and quick introductions. 

That’s where it started. Then they started hanging out together sometimes. Worked together briefly a few times. And Chris noticed how funny Leon was, how smart and how dependable. Even if he was … well, as broken as Chris was, he was tenacious and never gave up in the end. Besides, he wasn’t any less gorgeous now, goddamnit, he was just getting hotter with age. And although he was insufferable and stubborn and snarky and way too reckless…

…well, Chris loved him anyway. Or maybe exactly because of that. 

Leon shifted in his sleep, only a little, but it made a faint pained groan escape him and instinctively Chris held on to him a little tighter, until he was back asleep again. Chris sighed, for the millionth time that day. How was this his life, again? _I kind of really feel like I should kiss you_. The words returned into the infinite loop they’d been playing in his head, as much as he tried to forget them, ashamed of how a large part of him had wanted to just readily agree and jump at the given opportunity.

The rational part of him knew better. Leon hadn’t said that he _wanted_ to kiss him, or that he _needed_ to, or was _tempted_ do. He had said _I feel like I should_. Like he was offering it as a favor, as a token of gratitude, as something flippant and casual and… so utterly wrong. 

Chris hated the idea of it being something Leon felt he was _obligated_ to do. That he owed him something. That wasn’t how he wanted it. Not even close. He would rather not get it at all. He could deal with his feelings, it wasn’t the first time life had dealt him a shitty hand and he’d played the cards anyway, and he had always survived. 

He’d survive now, too. He’d deal with his feelings and he would get a grip, and then he would get out of this hellhole and back to safety again. And he would make damn sure that he’d drag Leon out of here with him.

*

Leon woke up cold, and with no idea of how long he’d slept. His head felt fuzzy, and for a moment he had no recollection of where he was. That lasted until he shifted to sit up, jostling his leg in the process, and the pain that shot through him at that was more than enough to make him snap fully awake. “Shit.” He breathed out weakly, carefully bending forward to examine the situation.

Nothing had really changed. The two meter long iron rod was still protruding from his calf, bent into a curve so that the other end was buried into the floor and the other hung freely somewhere next to the wall. For a second he considered if he could just sort of …slide his leg along the rod to the free end, but it was really way too long for that. 

With a grimace he gave up on the thought, instead leaning back a little to take in his surroundings. It was only then that his head was beginning to be clear enough and he realized, with a start, that Chris was nowhere to be seen. _Shit_. 

It was like an ice cold shower, followed by a leaden weight in the pit of Leon’s stomach, disappointment weighing heavy on him. His chest felt sort of hollow, and he tried to tell himself over and over again that he had no right for that. _He_ was the one who had tried to tell Chris to leave. _He_ was the one who had insisted on being left behind. He shouldn’t be so shocked when Chris had actually done what he had tried to make him do all along.

But he still felt the comforting warmth next to him, heard the firm voice telling him _I’m not leaving you_ and _I’m not going to walk away and abandon you_. He had believed that. He had _wanted to_ believe that, with all his might, and it was devastating to be proven wrong. 

Leon sort of felt like crying. 

He didn’t cry, though, but managed to bite it back like every single time before. He’d need to make a plan. He sure as hell wasn’t going to just lie down and die, he’d fight tooth and nail to get out of here even if it meant losing the leg in the process. 

It was then that Leon heard the echo of loud footsteps, immediately on alert. He reached for his gun, and suddenly realized that there was also a shotgun and a box of ammo next to him, placed neatly in reach. At least Chris had been generous enough to leave him with some extra tools to defend himself with. The treacherous twist of his heart was steadfastly ignored, as Leon took aim, waiting with bated breath.

Only to lower his weapon with a huge sigh as Chris appeared in the doorway. Leon had never been happier to see him. An immense wave of relief washed over him, but it was soon followed by anger, by white hot rage at being treated like this. “What the _fuck_ , Chris!?” he croaked out, voice rough and throat sore, “What the fucking hell!?”

“So you’re awake,” Chris grimaced, giving a vague shrug as he approached, slower this time. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up when I left, but you seemed like you really needed the rest.”

“What the fuck?” Leon repeated, again, like a broken record player. “You do realize I could’ve been eaten alive in my sleep?”

“Don’t try, you’re not that heavy sleeper.” Chris waved it aside, even though he did look troubled at the mere thought of that. “I’m sorry, really. It was stupid of me not to wake you up. But I did make sure the floor was clear before I left, so I was fairly certain nothing would try to jump you. I was only gone for like ten minutes at a time.”

“Didn’t you get any sleep?” He hated how his voice sounded so worried.

“I don’t know, an hour or so?” Chris shrugged but then a smile broke free on his face. “But you’ll never guess what I found! Right in the floor below us, there is a mechanics workshop! And what would be a better place to find a hacksaw or bolt cutters,” he explained further, and the kind of a goofy grin that he was sporting already told Leon that there was going to _finally_ be some good news following. “Ta-da!” Chris held out big bolt cutters, more than enough to get the iron rod cut off.

“Fucking _yes_ ,” Leon sighed, allowing his eyes to fall shut. All fight went out of him, quenched by the relief. He’d be getting out of here, after all. “I might have to take those home and frame them.” He shifted, gesturing impatiently towards his leg. “Now, what are you waiting for, go for it!”

“Stay still,” Chris warned, uselessly really, and it took him literally only seconds to cut the iron about an inch above Leon’s leg. Then he turned to look at Leon, arching a questioning eyebrow. “Should I?” He only got a nod as an answer but it seemed to be enough, as gently he grabbed the leg on either side of the iron rod, easing it up and off.

The pain almost made Leon double over, but he squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, holding his breath against the sheer agony. Soon enough the worst was over, and although it still did hurt the damage didn’t seem to be as bad as he’d originally feared. Chris had already rolled Leon’s pant leg up, revealing the wound to tend to it.

The first aid spray burned, but Leon didn’t really mind, and he gritted his teeth through the first aid when Chris did what he could. He was just relieved he could actually move his toes and seemed to have control over the limb. It hurt like mad, though, and as Chris helped him stand up finally he noticed that while he could put weight on the leg moving it to take actual steps was like hell on earth. The only way he managed was to put weight only on the ball of his foot, but he definitely couldn’t do any of what he usually did. 

With a grimace, he glanced at Chris, who still had an arm around his waist. “So I think sprinting and fancy flips and kicks are sort of out of the question.”

“I figured,” Chris answered, looking unimpressed. “You need me to carry you?”

“No,” Leon hurried to reply. Chris wasn’t at his best, either, tired and exhausted, and he was the one who had been held captive for days so he needed his strength to keep himself properly upright. Although it _was_ a tempting offer, Leon really didn’t want to put strain on the leg. Besides having Chris pressed up against his side, those strong arms around him… He killed that particular train of thought before he could get any further with it. “I might need you to be my crutch, though.”

“I can live with that,” Chris said easily, hoisting Leon up a bit better against his side, as Leon took the opportunity to wrap an arm around Chris’ shoulders. It was surprisingly easy to move like that, but they both knew it would only last until something bigger and menacing enough attacked them.

They collected all of their equipment and weaponry, before heading forward. Leon made a valiant effort to move on his own but in the end it was mostly Chris half-carrying him forward, supporting a lot of his weight. Leon really thought it should’ve pissed him off more, but he was shockingly fine with it. Somehow needing help had never been as embarrassing in front of Chris as… well, pretty much anyone else. 

At least they could hope that they’d now seen the worst, and that the rest would be smooth sailing.

*

Moving was easy enough even with Leon’s injury until they got to a staircase, _again_. After only two steps it was clear that climbing up them wasn’t going to happen. Chris turned to look at Leon, their faces only inches apart with the way he was still holding Leon against himself, and there was something so utterly gentle in his eyes that it sort of took Leon’s breath away. “We have two options?” he said, even lowering his voice as if to give them privacy, which should’ve been sort of ridiculous in the empty castle.

“Which are?” Leon asked, dumbly. He couldn’t make his brain work enough, not when it was screaming at him to just bury his face into Chris’ neck and inhale deep. It had never been this hard to resist just… letting go, and from that alone he knew he was so tired he’d reach the breaking point any moment now. Chris’ palm was firm against his ribs, his hold steady, and as stupid as it was to focus on such detail, it made Leon feel cared for in a way he hadn’t really felt many times in his entire life. 

“Number one, you’ll let me give you a piggy back ride,” Chris started, completely serious, the eye-contact never wavering. When he went on, the hints of a smile were already there, his lips twitching and the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Number two,” he made a theatrical pause, allowing the grin to break free, “ _bridal carry_.”

Leon’s eyes flew wide but instead of the indignation he honestly _tried to_ summon, he barked out a surprised laugh. “Are you serious?” he asked, but he could already see from the way Chris was looking at him that he was, even with the playful smile and the twinkle in his eyes, he was going to go for either one of those options. Probably number two, if Leon didn’t pick soon enough. “ _One_ ,” Leon said decisively, even though a tiny little part of his brain wanted to choose the second one. 

“As you wish,” Chris replied easily, and much to Leon’s disappointment the arm was pulled from around him so that they could maneuver themselves into position. Easily Chris hoisted Leon up to his back, and set up the stairs with determination in his steps. 

At first Leon shamelessly focused on the shift of those muscles under his arms where he was holding on to Chris’ shoulders, the wide expanse of Chris’ back against his chest so nice to lean on. If he hadn’t been so tired his body might’ve gotten ideas from how enjoyable the closeness was, but as for right now, he could barely keep his eyes open. 

But as easy as this all seemed to Chris, his tiredness was obvious to anyone who was paying attention. He stumbled in his step not once, but twice, and the dark circles under his eyes alone spoke of how much this whole thing had taken out of him. Not that he’d complain, he didn’t say a single word about it, just pushed forward. 

When they got to the top of the stairs and to the next doors, Chris set Leon down on the ground gently. Then he stretched his back and his shoulders, readying himself for whatever was waiting for them on the other side. They didn’t even talk about it, he was obviously going to go in first with the way Leon was hindered in his movements. 

Carefully they opened the door to the corridor – only to breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief. It was empty.

“About time,” Chris groaned, closing his eyes for a second. “How the hell is it even possible that there were those things in every single floor until now? It doesn’t make any sense.” Already when he was speaking he stepped a little closer to Leon and sneaked an arm around him, offering him the same support as in the lower floor. 

“Didn’t you notice?” Leon’s eyes widened in surprise. “They’ve been conducting experiments on different viruses in different floors.” He said it like it should’ve been obvious, and in hindsight, it probably should have. Chris had just been tired enough, so single mindedly set on getting out of here, that he hadn’t paid attention. “There was the t-virus floor and the c-floor, and even the fucking plaga floor. Those dogs with the tentacle things coming out of their back?” He shuddered at the memory alone. 

“Well,” Chris shrugged a little, with the shoulder Leon wasn’t leaning on so that he wouldn’t jostle him too much. “I wasn’t focusing on that, really. I was just trying to kill as many of them as possible to get us out of here. Besides,” he grinned at Leon, “haven’t we already established years ago that in this relationship, you are the brains?”

Leon snorted. “Don’t play stupid with me, Redfield. You know damn well you have a decent brain in that head of yours. At least when you’re not willfully ignoring it.”

*

Together they headed down the eerily empty corridors and all the way to the last set of stairs. This time, though, the big doors were blasted open instead of tightly shut like all of the previous ones had been. One of them was hanging from its hinges, the other slammed right into the wall behind it. “Fucking _hell_ ,” Leon whispered, instinctively lowering his voice as they had no idea what had done that.

Chris’ arm tightened around Leon’s waist as they inched closer, trying to get a look through the doorway to see if there was something in there. “Wait here,” Chris said, gently detaching himself from Leon’s side. He waited until he was sure Leon had his balance, before getting into the staircase to get a better vantage point. He only needed a few steps before he backtracked, the grim line of his mouth already a bad sign. 

“So. How big?” Leon asked with a wan smile. 

“Big enough that we can’t get around it in the stairs,” Chris answered. He didn’t want to say anything about it, but his gaze flitted towards Leon’s leg, and they both knew that with Leon’s mobility hindered like this they couldn’t just try to make a run for it. Where there’d been careful hope before, was now only sheer tiredness. Although it had been less than twenty-four hours it felt like they’d been struggling in there for _weeks_. And while neither of them was the type of person to give up, they shared a silent second of utter exhaustion before both visibly steeling themselves. 

“I suppose it’d be futile to ask you to leave me here and run?” Leon said, but Chris only arched an eyebrow at him, leveling him with a look that was answer enough. Against his will, a low chuckle was pulled from Leon, and he nodded slowly. “Alright. What if you’ll try to draw it in here? I’m not going to be of any use in the stairs.” 

“You’re right,” Chris nodded, glancing towards the stairs. It was silent, and they probably hadn’t been spotted by the creature yet. Then he looked back at Leon, earnest and reassuring in a way only he could be. “I promise, I will get you out of here.” And the way he said it? He meant it, with every fiber of his being.

It was kind of backwards, Leon thought, hadn’t he been the one doing the saving here originally? Then again, none of it really mattered. None of it _would_ matter unless they somehow eliminated that last threat between them and freedom. But the conviction in Chris’ tone won him over and he could do nothing but smile at him fondly. “I know,” he said, and before he could think twice went on, “I trust you. More than anyone.” 

Something passed in Chris’ eyes, as if he was searching for an answer, and it seemed that he found one as the next second there was nothing but determination left behind. For a second Leon even expected an argument, but then suddenly Chris was leaning in, closing the distance between them, and before Leon even really realized what was going on Chris’ warm lips brushed against his own. 

It never had the chance to evolve into anything deeper, for Leon was frozen on the spot and Chris pulled back way too soon. Obviously noticing Leon’s stunned expression, Chris only shrugged at him. “For luck,” he explained, already turning around to get into the staircase.

Somehow Leon managed to shake himself from his stillness. “Hey, Redfield,” he called after him, waiting for long enough for Chris to stop and look at him from over his shoulder before going on, “If you get yourself killed, I’m going to _kick your ass_.”

Immediately something in Chris brightened, as stupid as that might’ve been. “Roger that!” He grinned and gave a salute. 

Then he was gone, and quickly Leon set out to get away from the doorway and into at least some semblance of shelter. Some of the windows were above his shoulder-level, with ledges so wide he could probably perch up there and try to make the most of the few bullets he had left. So he hoisted himself up, ignoring the pain in his leg as he got in position. 

Chris obviously gave him a moment as there was nothing for a while, but then the unmistakable roar seemed to shake the entire building with its force. There were gunshots, some of Chris’ shouts audible over the roaring of the creature, and thundering footsteps coming down the stairs. Soon enough Chris barreled through the door, the BOW at his heels. 

Without hesitation Leon raised the gun and fired two bullets right between the creature’s eyes, barely slowing it down with them. It was now or never, though, and he knew that they didn’t have the luxury of having multiple tries, not when they had an enraged BOW monster thrashing in the same limited space with them. So he used up all he had. And he knew Chris was doing the same. His heart jumped into his throat as he realized at one point that Chris was down to just his knife, diving underneath the BOW to get to its soft throat and underside. 

Every single time Leon was faced with something like this, he couldn’t help but think that this might be it, this might be the last time he’d get lucky enough and live through it. Yet once again, despite everything, eventually the BOW was lying on the floor unmoving, surrounded by a rapidly spreading pool of blood. 

Forgetting to be careful, Leon jumped down onto the floor, and only when the flash of pain shot through him from his calf he remembered the injury. Almost at the same second there was a strong arm around him, helping him up and offering support, and when he looked up Chris was right there, grinning at him, the goofy and relieved smile from someone that was still high on adrenaline. 

Leon felt his heart jump, felt a mirroring smile on his face, and maybe it was the rush of relief that gave him the last push but the words that fell from his mouth were “Why did you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to,” Chris answered without thinking, entirely unapologetic. He arched an eyebrow, almost as if in a challenge, and went on. “It’s not like it’s an _obligation_ to _me_.”

“What?” It felt like he was referring to something, but for the life of him Leon couldn’t really focus enough to figure that one out. “What are you even—” He cut himself off, deciding that it just wasn’t worth it to argue, not at a moment like this. So instead he brought his hand to Chris’ neck, brushed his fingers over the sweaty, bloody skin, all the way to the back of his head. Then he leaned in for a kiss.

This time there was no hesitance. He crashed their mouths together, wasting no time before he deepened it, using Chris’ surprised gasp to his advantage. Chris’ mouth was hot against his, eager and needy, and Leon couldn’t stop the low moan that fell from him. It was such a rush, disbelief tangling with sheer excitement in his mind, and he refused to give up the contact before the need for air forced them apart. 

“You know what?” Leon breathed out as the kiss broke. He refused to move an inch, enjoying the closeness way too much, and so he pressed their faces close, his nose brushing against Chris’ cheek. “I’m done circling around this.” The scent of blood was thick and heavy in the air, and neither of them was at their best, but he kept clinging on to Chris, tried to stay as close to him as humanly possible. “I want to date you, asshole.”

In one swift movement Chris pushed Leon against the wall, pinned him against it with his body, and kissed him again. It was short, broke all too soon, but it spoke volumes of what his answer to that was. Even after he brought a hand up, cupped Leon’s jaw in a warm palm, looking at him like he was something precious. “Yes,” he said, barely audible, before repeating more firmly, “ _yes_.”

There they were, leaning on a stone wall in a godawful drafty castle, right next to a rapidly cooling corpse, covered in bruises and cuts and blood and guts and whatever else, probably both stinking to high heavens. And yet they could’ve both sworn they’d never felt giddier. 

Chris was the one who moved first. He slid his arm around Leon again, propping him up to help him forward. “Now let’s get moving. We’ve got a ride to catch.”

**Author's Note:**

> (bonus points to anyone who noticed the Lylat Wars/Star Fox reference lol)


End file.
